According to VG- based on a new and controversial documentary, alcohol abuse, and prostitution are common in Oslo strip clubs. The documentary "Insider," which is broadcated on the TV channel Max on Tuesday evenings, put the strip industry in Norway under microscope. The producers of the documentary used a hidden camera and they have documented the sale of sexual service in a strip club in Oslo. In the scenes supporting the claims, the reporter pays 2400 NOK for 20 minutes to spend time with the stripper into a back room.

The Border of Strip Clubs and Bawdy House Blurred

VG Nett has spoken with several sources in the sector claiming that these practices are common in Oslo. A former manger of a strip club said to VG Nett that at least eight of ten customers used to take girls to the back room. Over a period of several years he worked in the sector, he suggests that it was more and more disgusting, the more he saw. The borders were blurred constantly. He also claimed that an average customer would leave thousands of NOK by renting a girl for hours.

A foreign stripper, who has worked at the strip clubs in the U.S. and several European countries also told VG that the clubs she worked in Norway last year pushed for more close contact with customers and used to bring tens of Eastern European girls. The border usually crosses into prostitution and the owners of strip clubs turn into pimps, added she.

Law on Sex Sell in Norway

Prostitution in Norway is only illegal in that paying for sex is a crime (the client commits the crime by purchasing sex, but not the person who sells sex). The Norwegian law prohibiting the buying of sexual services (sexkjøpsloven) came into effect on January 1, 2009, following the passing of new legislation by the Norwegian parliament (Storting) in November 2008.